UNIVERSITY OF MAINE AT FARMINGTON COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, HEALTH AND REHABILITATION
LESSON PLAN FORMAT
Teacher’s Name: Russell Warren Lesson #: 5Facet: Explanation
Grade Level: 9&10 Numbers of Days: 3 Days
Topic: Themes, Color, and The World + The Great Gatsby
PART I:
Objectives
Students will understand that recurring themes are included to not only instill an idea, but give insight to our and the author's world.
Students will know what formed Fitzgerald's novel and theory on the 'American Dream'.
Students will be able to relate the themes of the novel to their own world.
Product: Google Doc
Maine Learning Results (MLR) or Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Alignment
Common Core State Standards
Content Area: English
Grade Level: 9 & 10
Domain: Reading - Literature
Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Standard #7: Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two or more different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment.
Rationale: From an in-depth look at the themes and motifs of the novel and film, information on the culture and society of the Roaring Twenties’, and application of the students’ knowledge on the subject, Lesson 5 is one part of a cumulative summative assessment package. Students will create a group essay in which they compare specific colors in separate interpretations of The Great Gatsby.
Assessments
Formative (Assessment for Learning)
Section I – checking for understanding during instruction
The activity ABCD Whisper will be used as an introductory activity to color and theme, having the students act out their understanding of what colors in The Great Gatsby relate to what themes. Part of their blog assignments will include Quick Write prompts where the students will think back on their knowledge and express any confusion or insights.
Section II – timely feedback for products (self, peer, teacher)
- Students will fill out a cumulative rubric where they will evaluate all their blog posts and this essay for content, clarity, and comprehension. This rubric will be filled out not only after the lesson but during as well, to be used by the students as a sort of guideline.
- Teacher will provide weekly feedback on the blog posts.
Summative (Assessment of Learning):
Google Doc: To demonstrate your knowledge of how color relates to theme, you will work on a collaborative essay. In groups of four, each person will be assigned a specific color that is important in The Great Gatsby. You will individually explain what your color means and how it is important, then your group will work together to explain how the separate colors intermingle an enhance the novel. (25/150)
Integration
Technology:
Students will utilize the awesome services Google Docs provide to collaborate electronically on their essay in brainstorming, drafting, and finalizing. The will also use the color feature to enhance their writings visually. The blogger is based online using the blogger.com website, or whatever blogging site the students are most comfortable with. They will also have the opportunity to embed videos they find interesting or hyperlinking an important online resource.
Content Areas:
English: The essay will be thoroughly checked for proper uses of punctuation, sentence structure, grammar, and other writing devices. Students will be expected to write a cohesive and explanatory essay using supporting evidence. The blogger will be continually checked for proper syntax, grammar, and sentence structure. The students will also be directly relating the information learned in the classroom to their daily experiences, showing application and understanding of the material.
Social Studies: Many of the assignments will be relating the students' modern world to that of the American Twenties.
Groupings
Section I - Graphic Organizer & Cooperative Learning used during instruction
The Sandwich Chart graphic organizer will be used by the students as a way to plan out their essay. Each student’s specific topic will be a detail, and as a group they will have to create the introduction and the conclusion.
The Jigsaw activity will be a class wide activity with all students participating.
Section II – Groups and Roles for Product
When working on the essay, students will be split up into groups of four students. Each student will embody a color from the novel, gold, yellow, green, or grey.
Differentiated Instruction
MI Strategies
Verbal: The essay is fully rounded with writing, having the Sandwich chart as a quick storyboard and Google Docs being used as the main creating facet.
Logic: Students, in the essay, will have to collaborate and connect their separate thoughts and opinions to form a coherent essay.
Visual: The hook allows the students to express themselves by creating a piece of art.
Musical:
Kinthestic: The small art assignment will allow the students to use whatever medium they want and create and form their thoughts with their hands.
Intrapersonal: The group activity ABCD Whisper allows the students to work together in class to form a visual representation of an idea.
Interpersonal: Part of the essay will include a personal investigation on a color/theme. Students will also continue to use their blogs as a reprieve and a place where they can explain their thoughts freely.
Naturalist: Looking back on lesson 3, students will notice how nature relates to color and utilize this in their art piece.
Modifications/Accommodations
From IEP’s ( Individual Education Plan), 504’s, ELLIDEP (English Language Learning Instructional Delivery Education Plan)I will review student’s IEP, 504 or ELLIDEP and make appropriate modifications and accommodations.
Plan for accommodating absent students:
As this lesson is about understanding the student's knowledge of the subject and forming a basis for the knowledge that will be the cornerstones of the unit, I will upload all worksheets on the class blog and ask a student that was in class to share their work with the absent student, and urge the students to meet with me / form an email correspondence. In my blog posts will be a review of what occurred in class and links to all videos, etc. we viewed, along with an explanation of their importance. They will also have to finish the same Quick Write blog post as the other students, just on a later deadline.
Extensions
Type II technology: The students to form their essay will use Google Doc. The service allows them to collaborate with their classmates online, edit their writing in real time, and even possibly write their text in the colors they are representing.
The blogger is based online using the blogger.com website, or whatever blogging site the students are most comfortable with. This digital record allows the students to look back on their work and revise, and also view other students' blog posts and collaborate on the Internet by commenting.
Gifted Students:
Students with a special grasp of the art activity will be asked to explain their piece to the class and how it represents themes from the novel. There is also and expert table incorporate into the Jigsaw activity, allowing those students to thrive.
Materials, Resources and Technology
Literature copies of The Great Gatsby
DVD copy of The Great Gatsby
Laptops
Projector
Speakers
Sandwich Charts Blank paper Art supplies Note cards
Teaching and Learning Sequence (Describe the teaching and learning process using all of the information from part I of the lesson plan)Take all the components and synthesize into a script of what you are doing as the teacher and what the learners are doing throughout the lesson. Need to use all the WHERETO’s. (3-5 pages)
Room Arrangement: Desks will be arranged in groups of four.
Day One: Art Workshop (80 minutes)
Hook: Students will enter the class that has been outfitted with multiple art supplies. Thinking back on their work from lessons 3 and 4, they will be asked to create their own quick sketch of a scene they particularly liked. Catch is that there are only four colors. (20)
First Activity: Students will hang their creations on the walls of the class, creating an art gallery. We will have a class discussion about the pieces and how they represent theme, and how their specific interpretation of the novel affected their pieces. (20)
Second Activity: Teacher will hand out students with cards that deal with a specific place, idea, or character from the novel, and they will begin the Jigsaw activity. Discussion at end. (20)
Wrap-Up: Present Google Doc essay and give students organizers to begin thinking about product. (5)
Assignment: Quick Write blog post – Pick anything from the novel (a character, theme, place, scene, object) and try to explain it’s importance by just using images, sound, or video. Also list questions, complaints, or any other thoughts you have about the novel and the upcoming unit (5)
Day Two: Delving Deep (80 minutes)
Opener: Blog synthesis - The teacher, after viewing the blogs, will lead a class discussion on any common points throughout the blogs, paying special attention to highlighting words specific students said (15)
First Activity: Dive into the beginning stages of the essay. Assign groups and colors, explain expectations, and hand out Sandwich charts for a preliminary storyboarding of the essay. Give classtime to work on the essay. (20)
Break Activity: ABCD Activity (10)
First Activity continued: Keep working on essays. (25)
Assignment: Continue working on essay if you’d like. Quick Write blog post – Is there somewhere else you can think of that color is used prominently to produce meaning? A favorite film or tv show, maybe? Also list questions, complaints, or any other thoughts you have about the novel and the upcoming unit (10)
Day Three: Examining Essays (80 minutes)
Opener: Quick Blog synthesis - The teacher, after viewing the blogs, will lead a class discussion on any common points throughout the blogs, paying special attention to highlighting words specific students said (10)
First Activity: Polish essays and, when finalized, share with the teacher. (30)
Second Activity: Second Jigsaw, with the students taking on the roles of color and theme they wrote about in their essays. (35)
Assignment: Essay edits, if needed/wanted. Quick Write blog post – What would you change about your contribution to the essay, if you think you should’ve? Also list questions, complaints, or any other thoughts you have about the novel and the unit (5)
Students understand that color is widely used as visual representations of topics and themes. Through many of these lessons the students have been examining how representation effects how the audience reacts to the content. In this lesson, students will focus even closer on how color affects the audiences feelings and emotions. Colors are used for very specific reasons and students will begin to use the information they’ve learned throughout the unit in a final essay.
Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two or more different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment. Students will be physically taking on the role of different themes of colors in the novel, and analyzing how they were treated in the novel compared to the different film versions.
Questions for students to consider:
Why are all these colors used in the novel to convey ideas and themes?
How do these colors and themes converge together in the novel and movies to create meaning for the audience?
Students will know why gold, green, and other colors are so important to understanding and representing the novel. Many different activities will be sued to have the students learnt he content while enjoying themselves and moving around as well. The Jigsaw will be used as the first and last activity, primarily to have students act out how theme and color intermingle and work together, and to give them an idea of the scope of motif. ABCD Whisper will serve a similar purpose, but with more cemented subjects, like characters and places. Finally, the Sandwich chart, a tool for the planning of their essay, will be a visual aid of how the different colors come together to make a single entity.
Students will be able to describe how creators use color to represent themes by creating a Google Doc. The essay, which is a collaborative piece between multiple members of a groups, will solidify the students understanding of how color relates to theme. They’ll all take on the role of a color, explain how it’s more significantly used in the novel and in a film representation, then jointly explain how all of the colors relate to one another and the themes of the novel. Through this, they’ll be able to see why the colors are so important and why they were chosen.
Part of their blog assignments will include a Quick Write prompt where the students will think back on their knowledge and express any confusion or insights by responding to content questions. Students will have the assignment to read other students' blogs and respond to them as a peer review. They will also fill out a cumulative rubric at the end of the unit where they will evaluate all their blog posts for content, clarity, and comprehension. Finally, the teacher will provide constant comments and responses to the students' blog posts and present quick syntheses at the beginning of each class.
Evaluate, Tailors: Verbal, Logic, Interpersonal
Content Notes
Students will know…..
By the time this unit begins, the students will have already finished reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby. Their grasp on the plot of the novel, the main events, and the characters should be solid. However, they have little understanding of symbolism in the novel, specifically relating to color. They also have not viewed a separate interpretation of the content, like through a film or comic strip. For this first lesson, will we wrap up the actual novel and delve into the history of the formation of the content, the reason color plays such an important role in the content, and how different representations change the meaning of the content.
The main content area of the unit and the basis for all of the discussion and knowledge comes from F. Scott Fitzgerald's influential novel //The Great Gatsby//, written in 1922. In a very condensed synopsis, the plot is shown through the eyes of Nick Carraway, a young man who grew up in the Midwest who is thrown into the gaudy and vivacious lives of extremely rich East Coasters. Living in the fashionable town of West Egg, just outside of New York City, Nick befriends a woman named Daisy Buchanan, a woman of flighty passion, and her husband Tom Buchanan, a man of strength and anger. Throughout this time, Nick constantly hears of a man named Jay Gatsby, a god amongst men who "had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life," and was fabulously wealthy. As the novel progresses, Nick, as well as the readers, discover that all of Gatsby's wealth was gained as a facade, so that Daisy would leave Tom and fall in love with Jay. Throughout the novel, color is used to represent very specific and important themes throughout the novel, most importantly green/hope, gold/wealth, yellow/fallacy, and grey/death.
Handouts
Google Doc Rubric Sandwich Chart
Maine Common Core Teaching Standards for Initial Teacher Certification and Rationale
Standard 1 – Learner Development. The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.
Learning Styles
Clipboard: Students will utilize a Sandwich chart, the Google Doc, and even the ABCD Whisper activity as ways for them to organize their thoughts. These will help these students plan out their thoughts and come to conclusions through organization.
Microscope: The Google Doc will be great for students who wish to investigate logically ideas about theme, color, and motif by creating a deep, analytic essay.
Puppy: Throughout class discussion, students' feelings and opinions will be supported and the room will foster positivity and creativity. The blog synthesis will address specific students and praise them, give constructive criticism, or answer questions, all on a personal basis.
Beach Ball: No one activity will last longer than thirty minutes, and a few involve physically moving around the room, so the students will always be engaged.
Rationale: This lesson requires students to be analytic and logical about their thinking and planning to create a cohesive and supported essay. However, much of the class time will be devoted to aiding students in their understanding and providing them with enriching activites.
Standard 6 -Assessment. The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their on growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher's and learner's decision making.
Formative: The multiple activities during class, which include ABCD Whisper, Jigsaw, and the Quick Writes.
Summative: The Google Document essays on color and theme.
Rationale: The formative essays are planned throughout the lesson to aid students in their comprehension and give the teacher a view into the minds of the students. This allows the teacher to edit any they need to. The Google Doc gathers many of the subjects they’ve been learning about and compiles them in a graded assignment which allows the students to express their knowledge.
Rationale:
Standard 7 - Planning Instruction. The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.
Content Knowledge:
(See Content Notes)
MLR or CCSS:Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two or more different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment
Common Core State Standards
Content Area: English
Grade Level: 9 & 10
Domain: Reading - Literature
Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Facet: Students will be able to describe how creators use color to represent theme.
Standard 8 -Instructional Strategies. The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
MI Strategies:
Verbal: The essay is fully rounded with writing, having the Sandwich chart as a quick storyboard and Google Docs being used as the main creating facet.
Logic: Students, in the essay, will have to collaborate and connect their separate thoughts and opinions to form a coherent essay.
Visual: The hook allows the students to express themselves by creating a piece of art.
Musical:
Kinthestic: The small art assignment will allow the students to use whatever medium they want and create and form their thoughts with their hands.
Intrapersonal: The group activity ABCD Whisper allows the students to work together in class to form a visual representation of an idea.
Interpersonal: Part of the essay will include a personal investigation on a color/theme. Students will also continue to use their blogs as a reprieve and a place where they can explain their thoughts freely.
Naturalist: Looking back on lesson 3, students will notice how nature relates to color and utilize this in their art piece.
Type II Technology:
blogger.com
Rationale: This classroom is a place where all students, cultures, identities, and beliefs are supported and addressed. Students will have multiple opportunities to work in multiple areas. This includes the logical writing of the essay, which itself include personal and group work, as well as the ability to visually represent their ideas as they move around the room.
NETS STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS
1. Facilitates and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.
a. Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments
Rationale: The entire lesson will require students to think abstractly on the material and understand the content. The best way to do this is through fun. Students will have the opportunity to create their own unique representations information they learned by creating a Google Doc. Student interaction will also be fostered, students having the ability to work with others to discuss ideas and come to conclusions.
2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS-S.
a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
b. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress
c. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources
d. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching
Rationale: The lesson will utilize the online service Google Doc to enhance their learning by providing a place where students can collaboratively work and expand the opportunities of writing essays.
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, HEALTH AND REHABILITATION
LESSON PLAN FORMAT
Teacher’s Name: Russell Warren Lesson #: 5 Facet: Explanation
Grade Level: 9&10 Numbers of Days: 3 Days
Topic: Themes, Color, and The World + The Great Gatsby
PART I:
Objectives
Students will understand that recurring themes are included to not only instill an idea, but give insight to our and the author's world.
Students will know what formed Fitzgerald's novel and theory on the 'American Dream'.
Students will be able to relate the themes of the novel to their own world.
Product: Google Doc
Maine Learning Results (MLR) or Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Alignment
Common Core State Standards
Content Area: English
Grade Level: 9 & 10
Domain: Reading - Literature
Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Standard #7: Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two or more different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment.
Rationale: From an in-depth look at the themes and motifs of the novel and film, information on the culture and society of the Roaring Twenties’, and application of the students’ knowledge on the subject, Lesson 5 is one part of a cumulative summative assessment package. Students will create a group essay in which they compare specific colors in separate interpretations of The Great Gatsby.
Assessments
Formative (Assessment for Learning)
Section I – checking for understanding during instruction
The activity ABCD Whisper will be used as an introductory activity to color and theme, having the students act out their understanding of what colors in The Great Gatsby relate to what themes. Part of their blog assignments will include Quick Write prompts where the students will think back on their knowledge and express any confusion or insights.
Section II – timely feedback for products (self, peer, teacher)
- Students will fill out a cumulative rubric where they will evaluate all their blog posts and this essay for content, clarity, and comprehension. This rubric will be filled out not only after the lesson but during as well, to be used by the students as a sort of guideline.
- Teacher will provide weekly feedback on the blog posts.
Summative (Assessment of Learning):
Google Doc: To demonstrate your knowledge of how color relates to theme, you will work on a collaborative essay. In groups of four, each person will be assigned a specific color that is important in The Great Gatsby. You will individually explain what your color means and how it is important, then your group will work together to explain how the separate colors intermingle an enhance the novel. (25/150)
Integration
Technology:
Students will utilize the awesome services Google Docs provide to collaborate electronically on their essay in brainstorming, drafting, and finalizing. The will also use the color feature to enhance their writings visually.
The blogger is based online using the blogger.com website, or whatever blogging site the students are most comfortable with. They will also have the opportunity to embed videos they find interesting or hyperlinking an important online resource.
Content Areas:
English: The essay will be thoroughly checked for proper uses of punctuation, sentence structure, grammar, and other writing devices. Students will be expected to write a cohesive and explanatory essay using supporting evidence.
The blogger will be continually checked for proper syntax, grammar, and sentence structure. The students will also be directly relating the information learned in the classroom to their daily experiences, showing application and understanding of the material.
Social Studies: Many of the assignments will be relating the students' modern world to that of the American Twenties.
Groupings
Section I - Graphic Organizer & Cooperative Learning used during instruction
The Sandwich Chart graphic organizer will be used by the students as a way to plan out their essay. Each student’s specific topic will be a detail, and as a group they will have to create the introduction and the conclusion.
The Jigsaw activity will be a class wide activity with all students participating.
Section II – Groups and Roles for Product
When working on the essay, students will be split up into groups of four students. Each student will embody a color from the novel, gold, yellow, green, or grey.
Differentiated Instruction
MI Strategies
Verbal: The essay is fully rounded with writing, having the Sandwich chart as a quick storyboard and Google Docs being used as the main creating facet.
Logic: Students, in the essay, will have to collaborate and connect their separate thoughts and opinions to form a coherent essay.
Visual: The hook allows the students to express themselves by creating a piece of art.
Musical:
Kinthestic: The small art assignment will allow the students to use whatever medium they want and create and form their thoughts with their hands.
Intrapersonal: The group activity ABCD Whisper allows the students to work together in class to form a visual representation of an idea.
Interpersonal: Part of the essay will include a personal investigation on a color/theme. Students will also continue to use their blogs as a reprieve and a place where they can explain their thoughts freely.
Naturalist: Looking back on lesson 3, students will notice how nature relates to color and utilize this in their art piece.
Modifications/Accommodations
From IEP’s ( Individual Education Plan), 504’s, ELLIDEP (English Language Learning Instructional Delivery Education Plan) I will review student’s IEP, 504 or ELLIDEP and make appropriate modifications and accommodations.
Plan for accommodating absent students:
As this lesson is about understanding the student's knowledge of the subject and forming a basis for the knowledge that will be the cornerstones of the unit, I will upload all worksheets on the class blog and ask a student that was in class to share their work with the absent student, and urge the students to meet with me / form an email correspondence. In my blog posts will be a review of what occurred in class and links to all videos, etc. we viewed, along with an explanation of their importance. They will also have to finish the same Quick Write blog post as the other students, just on a later deadline.
Extensions
Type II technology:
The students to form their essay will use Google Doc. The service allows them to collaborate with their classmates online, edit their writing in real time, and even possibly write their text in the colors they are representing.
The blogger is based online using the blogger.com website, or whatever blogging site the students are most comfortable with. This digital record allows the students to look back on their work and revise, and also view other students' blog posts and collaborate on the Internet by commenting.
Gifted Students:
Students with a special grasp of the art activity will be asked to explain their piece to the class and how it represents themes from the novel. There is also and expert table incorporate into the Jigsaw activity, allowing those students to thrive.
Materials, Resources and Technology
Literature copies of The Great Gatsby
DVD copy of The Great Gatsby
Laptops
Projector
Speakers
Sandwich Charts
Blank paper
Art supplies
Note cards
Source for Lesson Plan and Research
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/sandwich.pdf - Sandwich chart
http://blogger.com/ - Blogger
http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/files/uploads/43/abcdwhispers.pdf - ABCD Whisper
http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/cannerj/images/jigsaw.gif - Jigsaw activity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2jh6XkjrHU - The Great Gatsby 1949
http://www.youtube.com/movie/the-great-gatsby-1974 - The Great Gatsby 1974
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=684n8FO68LU - To Live in 20s
http://www.1920-30.com/ - Snapshot of the 20s
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/themes.html - Themes, Motifs, and Symbols in the novel
http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/educator/modules/teachingthetwenties/ - Teaching the Twenties
PART II:
Teaching and Learning Sequence (Describe the teaching and learning process using all of the information from part I of the lesson plan) Take all the components and synthesize into a script of what you are doing as the teacher and what the learners are doing throughout the lesson. Need to use all the WHERETO’s. (3-5 pages)
Room Arrangement: Desks will be arranged in groups of four.
Day One: Art Workshop (80 minutes)
Day Two: Delving Deep (80 minutes)
- Opener: Blog synthesis - The teacher, after viewing the blogs, will lead a class discussion on any common points throughout the blogs, paying special attention to highlighting words specific students said (15)
- First Activity: Dive into the beginning stages of the essay. Assign groups and colors, explain expectations, and hand out Sandwich charts for a preliminary storyboarding of the essay. Give classtime to work on the essay. (20)
- Break Activity: ABCD Activity (10)
- First Activity continued: Keep working on essays. (25)
- Assignment: Continue working on essay if you’d like. Quick Write blog post – Is there somewhere else you can think of that color is used prominently to produce meaning? A favorite film or tv show, maybe? Also list questions, complaints, or any other thoughts you have about the novel and the upcoming unit (10)
Day Three: Examining Essays (80 minutes)Students understand that color is widely used as visual representations of topics and themes. Through many of these lessons the students have been examining how representation effects how the audience reacts to the content. In this lesson, students will focus even closer on how color affects the audiences feelings and emotions. Colors are used for very specific reasons and students will begin to use the information they’ve learned throughout the unit in a final essay.
Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two or more different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment. Students will be physically taking on the role of different themes of colors in the novel, and analyzing how they were treated in the novel compared to the different film versions.
Questions for students to consider:
- Why are all these colors used in the novel to convey ideas and themes?
- How do these colors and themes converge together in the novel and movies to create meaning for the audience?
Where, Why, What, Hook, Tailors: Verbal, Logic, Visual, Musical, Intrapersonal, InterpersonalStudents will know why gold, green, and other colors are so important to understanding and representing the novel. Many different activities will be sued to have the students learnt he content while enjoying themselves and moving around as well. The Jigsaw will be used as the first and last activity, primarily to have students act out how theme and color intermingle and work together, and to give them an idea of the scope of motif. ABCD Whisper will serve a similar purpose, but with more cemented subjects, like characters and places. Finally, the Sandwich chart, a tool for the planning of their essay, will be a visual aid of how the different colors come together to make a single entity.
Equip, Explore, Rethink, Tailors: Verbal, Logic, Visual, Kinesthetic, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Naturalist
Students will be able to describe how creators use color to represent themes by creating a Google Doc. The essay, which is a collaborative piece between multiple members of a groups, will solidify the students understanding of how color relates to theme. They’ll all take on the role of a color, explain how it’s more significantly used in the novel and in a film representation, then jointly explain how all of the colors relate to one another and the themes of the novel. Through this, they’ll be able to see why the colors are so important and why they were chosen.
Explore, Experience, Rethink, Revise, Tailors: Verbal, Logic, Intrapersonal
Part of their blog assignments will include a Quick Write prompt where the students will think back on their knowledge and express any confusion or insights by responding to content questions. Students will have the assignment to read other students' blogs and respond to them as a peer review. They will also fill out a cumulative rubric at the end of the unit where they will evaluate all their blog posts for content, clarity, and comprehension. Finally, the teacher will provide constant comments and responses to the students' blog posts and present quick syntheses at the beginning of each class.
Evaluate, Tailors: Verbal, Logic, Interpersonal
Content Notes
Students will know…..
By the time this unit begins, the students will have already finished reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby. Their grasp on the plot of the novel, the main events, and the characters should be solid. However, they have little understanding of symbolism in the novel, specifically relating to color. They also have not viewed a separate interpretation of the content, like through a film or comic strip. For this first lesson, will we wrap up the actual novel and delve into the history of the formation of the content, the reason color plays such an important role in the content, and how different representations change the meaning of the content.
The main content area of the unit and the basis for all of the discussion and knowledge comes from F. Scott Fitzgerald's influential novel //The Great Gatsby//, written in 1922. In a very condensed synopsis, the plot is shown through the eyes of Nick Carraway, a young man who grew up in the Midwest who is thrown into the gaudy and vivacious lives of extremely rich East Coasters. Living in the fashionable town of West Egg, just outside of New York City, Nick befriends a woman named Daisy Buchanan, a woman of flighty passion, and her husband Tom Buchanan, a man of strength and anger. Throughout this time, Nick constantly hears of a man named Jay Gatsby, a god amongst men who "had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life," and was fabulously wealthy. As the novel progresses, Nick, as well as the readers, discover that all of Gatsby's wealth was gained as a facade, so that Daisy would leave Tom and fall in love with Jay. Throughout the novel, color is used to represent very specific and important themes throughout the novel, most importantly green/hope, gold/wealth, yellow/fallacy, and grey/death.
Handouts
Google Doc Rubric
Sandwich Chart
Maine Common Core Teaching Standards for Initial Teacher Certification and Rationale
Standard 1 – Learner Development. The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.
Learning Styles
Clipboard: Students will utilize a Sandwich chart, the Google Doc, and even the ABCD Whisper activity as ways for them to organize their thoughts. These will help these students plan out their thoughts and come to conclusions through organization.
Microscope: The Google Doc will be great for students who wish to investigate logically ideas about theme, color, and motif by creating a deep, analytic essay.
Puppy: Throughout class discussion, students' feelings and opinions will be supported and the room will foster positivity and creativity. The blog synthesis will address specific students and praise them, give constructive criticism, or answer questions, all on a personal basis.
Beach Ball: No one activity will last longer than thirty minutes, and a few involve physically moving around the room, so the students will always be engaged.
Rationale: This lesson requires students to be analytic and logical about their thinking and planning to create a cohesive and supported essay. However, much of the class time will be devoted to aiding students in their understanding and providing them with enriching activites.
Standard 6 - Assessment. The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their on growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher's and learner's decision making.
Formative: The multiple activities during class, which include ABCD Whisper, Jigsaw, and the Quick Writes.
Summative: The Google Document essays on color and theme.
Rationale: The formative essays are planned throughout the lesson to aid students in their comprehension and give the teacher a view into the minds of the students. This allows the teacher to edit any they need to. The Google Doc gathers many of the subjects they’ve been learning about and compiles them in a graded assignment which allows the students to express their knowledge.
Rationale:
Standard 7 - Planning Instruction. The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.
Content Knowledge:
(See Content Notes)
MLR or CCSS: Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two or more different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment
Common Core State Standards
Content Area: English
Grade Level: 9 & 10
Domain: Reading - Literature
Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Facet: Students will be able to describe how creators use color to represent theme.
Standard 8 - Instructional Strategies. The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
MI Strategies:
Verbal: The essay is fully rounded with writing, having the Sandwich chart as a quick storyboard and Google Docs being used as the main creating facet.
Logic: Students, in the essay, will have to collaborate and connect their separate thoughts and opinions to form a coherent essay.
Visual: The hook allows the students to express themselves by creating a piece of art.
Musical:
Kinthestic: The small art assignment will allow the students to use whatever medium they want and create and form their thoughts with their hands.
Intrapersonal: The group activity ABCD Whisper allows the students to work together in class to form a visual representation of an idea.
Interpersonal: Part of the essay will include a personal investigation on a color/theme. Students will also continue to use their blogs as a reprieve and a place where they can explain their thoughts freely.
Naturalist: Looking back on lesson 3, students will notice how nature relates to color and utilize this in their art piece.
Type II Technology:
blogger.com
Rationale: This classroom is a place where all students, cultures, identities, and beliefs are supported and addressed. Students will have multiple opportunities to work in multiple areas. This includes the logical writing of the essay, which itself include personal and group work, as well as the ability to visually represent their ideas as they move around the room.
NETS STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS
1. Facilitates and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.
a. Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments
Rationale: The entire lesson will require students to think abstractly on the material and understand the content. The best way to do this is through fun. Students will have the opportunity to create their own unique representations information they learned by creating a Google Doc. Student interaction will also be fostered, students having the ability to work with others to discuss ideas and come to conclusions.
2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS-S.
a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
b. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress
c. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources
d. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching
Rationale: The lesson will utilize the online service Google Doc to enhance their learning by providing a place where students can collaboratively work and expand the opportunities of writing essays.